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# The Return of the Prodigal Son: one of Rembrandt's last paintings, one of the chief masterpieces of the Hermitage and one of the greatest canvases in human history
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/vozvrashchenie-bludnogo-syna-odna-iz-poslednikh-kartin-rembrandta-odin-iz-glavnykh-shedevrov-ermitazha-i-odno-iz-velichaishikh-khudozhestvennykh-poloten-chelovechestva/
- Published: 2023-07-23T14:19:20.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T05:36:12.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Faith, Art, Museums, Saint Petersburg

The painting is most often dated to 1666-1669\. But since very little is known about the last years of Rembrandt's life, neither the history of its creation nor the artist's own interpretation is known. The painting was acquired in the lifetime of Catherine the Great by Prince Dmitry Alexeyevich Golitsyn from the Paris collection of the Duc de Caderousse.

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_9375@23-07-2023_17-19-20.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_9376@23-07-2023_17-19-20.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_9377@23-07-2023_17-19-20.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_9378@23-07-2023_17-19-20.jpg)